---
title: Does progesterone affect REM sleep and mood? | Niyora
description: Yes. During the menstrual cycle, women with high progesterone had more REM sleep and better mood. After birth, when progesterone drops, sleep patterns change
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/rem-sleep-and-mood-state-in-childbearing-women-sleepy-or-weepy-2000/
---

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- Does progesterone affect REM sleep and mood?

Cohort study, 2000

# Does progesterone affect REM sleep and mood?

Yes. During the menstrual cycle, women with high progesterone had more REM sleep and better mood. After birth, when progesterone drops, sleep patterns change but mood seems related more to overall sleep disruption than to progesterone changes alone.

 Moderate study design

34 women during menstrual cycle; 31 women during pregnancy and one month postpartum

## What they did

This was a longitudinal study where researchers measured REM sleep using home sleep monitors at seven different time points. They studied 34 women at different points of their menstrual cycle and separately studied 31 women during pregnancy and one month after birth. They measured blood progesterone levels and mood.

## What they found

Women who ovulated (high progesterone in the luteal phase) had shorter REM latency, more REM sleep, and more positive mood compared to those who did not ovulate. Compared to the third trimester, REM latency was significantly shorter at one month postpartum. Mood was most positive at the second trimester and most negative at one month postpartum.

## What it means for you

Progesterone changes during the menstrual cycle link to REM sleep and mood changes. After birth, disrupted sleep seems to affect mood more than progesterone changes do. The study is small but well-designed. These are associations, not proof of cause and effect.

34

women studied during menstrual cycle

31

women studied during pregnancy and postpartum

7

time points measured

## About the study

Original title REM sleep and mood state in childbearing women: sleepy or weepy? Authors Lee KA, McEnany G, Zaffke ME Journal Sleep Year 2000 Study design Cohort study Participants 34 What was tested None - observational study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1093/sleep/23.7.1b](https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/23.7.1b)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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Do women with premenstrual depression have different sleep patterns?

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Why do some women experience mood changes linked to their menstrual cycle?

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Do women with a history of PMS or PMDD have more depression during pregnancy and after birth?

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